Vigorous Fermentation and taste?

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KevinJoe

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So i just brewed my 2nd batch of homebrew (American Pale Ale) a few days ago and i had the primary stored in my basement in a spare room. Unfortunately somebody left the window open on a warm day and the temperature was around 75.

The fermentation was pretty vigorous and the wort was escaping from the airlock. I had to clean out the airlock and closed the window to allow the yeast to slow down a bit.

Does anyone think this will affect the taste of my finished beer?
 
I don't think it'll turn out bad. Sometimes batches "blow off", which just means you could have used more headspace in your fermenter.
 
What was the temp of the fermenting liquid? What temp did you pitch at and how did the temp change over what time period.

All these are important factors. To make a clean beer with less off flavors most brewers follow this stardard plan of attack:
ALWAYS PITCH THE PROPER AMOUNT OF HEALTHY YEAST
Pitch cool with ale yeast that's anywhere from high 50's to mid 60's (depends on the strain)
Keep it fairly cool for the first 48 hours to reduce fusel alcohols
After the 48 period allow the temp to rise to the target fermentation temp for that strain. This could be from the mid 60's to low 70's
after fermentation peaks further push the temp warmer still above the target fermentation temp to keep the yeast active and working. this helps with attenuation and the yeast will work on cleaning up diacetyl and acetyl aldehyde.
Hold at the warmest temp until you reach final gravity.
give the yeast time to flocculate and drop to the bottom
bottle or keg the beer, there is no need for a secondary fermenter
 
I have actually started fermenting warmer and for a longer period of time, and my ales have been attenuating better and have been cleaner. I always pitch a starter of appropriate size and let the propogation phase take place for 2-3 days at a temp 3-6 degrees under the max range for the yeast....then I warm it up to the max temp reccomended, if not a few degrees warmer and I hold it there for the rest of the fermentation time...usually 3 weeks. The yeast really seem to clean up after themselves well and floc out when given this type of treatment.

The only exception to this procedure is Kolsch WLP029...I like to hold this at 64-67 for at least 4 weeks....no variation in temp.
 
usually 3 weeks.

Most ferments are done in a week. It just takes time for the yeast to clear (depends on the strain) If you use gelatin or crash cool to drop the yeast you can easily cut it down to 7-10 days. But why rush. For a commercial brewer time is money but homebrewer can afford to wait.
 
to maida7

I pitched my yeast (California Ale yeast) at about 72 degrees. The label said that this yeast strain works best between 70 and 75 degrees.

I think at some point about a day or two later, my primary was in about 76 to 77 degrees, and the fermentation was really vigorous. when i saw how vigorous fermentation was, I cleaned the airlock and reinserted it. The temperature was at a steady 69 to 70 for the rest of the week, and I'm preparing to bottle tomorrow.

I'm pretty new to brewing so I just don't know if a vigorous fermentation can produce off flavors.
 
The label said that this yeast strain works best between 70 and 75 degrees.

The temps on the label refer to the optimal temps for yeast health. Those temps are not always ideal for flavor. If you start at 72 and it quickly goes to 76 you run the risk of some solvent high alcohol flavors.

With Cal Ale. I would pitch at 64-66. Raise the temp to 68 after the first 2 days. Keep at 68 until fermentation starts to slow down then bump it up to 72 for the next few days to help keep the yeast active so they can finish the job and clean up the mess. After 7-14 total days the yeast should fall to the bottom and it's ready to bottle.
 

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